Joseph Gafaranga
Biographic Data
| ID | 734811 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joseph Gafaranga |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joseph |
| FAMILY NAME | Gafaranga |
| SIGNATURE | GAFARANGA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2155-274X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 141 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Translinguistic apposition
Introduction: This paper investigates the structure and function of translinguistic apposition in Kinyarwanda news articles. In the structure, a Kinyarwanda noun phrase and a French / English noun phrase are juxtaposed as if the second clarified the first. Two major issues are identified, namely the possibility of translinguisticc apposition as practical action and its implicativeness relative to preceding and subsequent choices. These issues are…
To translanguage or not to translanguage
Using data from Rwandan multilingualism and applying a CA-informed qualitative methodology, this paper contributes to the debate about the nature of translanguaging, understood as the use of linguistic features from different languages without any orientation to language boundaries. To do this, the paper explores two empirical questions. First it is observed that, in bilingual conversation, practices which can be correctly described as translangu…
Other-language recalibration repair in broadcast news interviews in Rwanda
Using institutional conversation analysis, this article develops an account of the organisation of other-language recalibration repair in broadcast news interviews in Rwanda. Initial observation shows that the structure of other-language recalibration repair is significantly reduced compared to that of repair in everyday conversation. The study argues that this difference is due to the interactional use of the repair practice. To develop this arg…
Other-language recalibration in bilingual broadcast news interviews in Rwanda
Language choice and direct speech presentation in Kinyarwanda news articles
Aims/objectives/purpose/research questions: This paper investigates the issue of language choice in direct speech presentation (DS) in Kinyarwanda news articles. Two specific research questions are addressed: 1. What is the default medium of DS in these texts and how can it be accounted? 2. Can the default medium be deviated from and what functions does deviance serve? Design/methodology/approach: An inductive discourse analytic methodology. Data…
Translinguistic apposition in a multilingual media blog in Rwanda
Researchers have called for studies that link the macro and the micro in language policy research. In turn, the notion of 'micro' has been theorised as referring either to the micro implementation of macro policies or to micro policies. In this article, a third way of thinking about the relationship between the macro and the micro in language policy-referred to as the interpretive perspective-is proposed. In this perspective, macro language polic…
Micro declared language policy or not
Language alternation and conversational repair in bilingual conversation
Researchers have consistently reported language alternation in repair sequences in bilingual conversation. However, up until now, no systematic account of the relationship between language alternation and conversational repair has been put forward. The aim of this article is to fill this gap. Two main questions are addressed: (a) where in the repair sequence can language alternation occur? And (b) what does language alternation do in repair seque…
‘Medium of instruction’ vs. ‘medium of classroom interaction’
The aim of this paper is to account for language choice and alternation phenomena we have observed in a French complementary school classroom in Scotland. In this classroom, talk can be conducted in French (the official medium of instruction), in English (the other language in contact) and in both French and English. A critical review of the literature has revealed that current studies of bilingual classroom talk are conducted either from a ‘loca…
Transition space medium repair
Medium request
In his landmark contribution to the field of language shift/maintenance, Fishman maintains that, for language shift to be reversed, "face-to-face, small-scale social life must be pursued in their own right and focused upon directly." This article responds to this call to examine language shift at the level of face-to-face interaction. It describes a specific interactional practice, referred to as "medium request," observed in the Rwandan communit…
Demythologising language alternation studies
The expression of aversion to medicines in general practice consultations
Interactional otherness
The concept of c odeswitching has traditionally been understood, from an external observer's perspective, to mean any occurrence of two languages within the same conversation. Our position is that language alternation should be observed from participants' own perspective. From this perspective, many distinct types of language alternation can be identified, namely “language alternation itself as the medium,” “medium repair” (Gafaranga, 1999,2000) …
Social identities and language alternation in non-formal institutional bilingual talk
Identity-related accounts of language alternation among bilingual speakers have traditionally drawn on the social values of the languages involved in specific communities (Gumperz 1982, Myers-Scotton 1993). However, recently researchers have expressed reservation against this approach (Wootton and Sebba 1998, Li Wei 1998, 2002). Following from this, Gafaranga 2001 argues that, in order to account for the orderliness of language alternation, langu…
Language versus Medium in the study of bilingual conversation
This paper is based on bilingual conversations we have collected in two bilingual settings, namely service encounters in Barcelona and ordinary informal conversations among bilingual Rwandese in Belgium. On the basis of these data, the paper raises the question of whether the concept of l anguage is a useful one in accounting for language choice acts among bilingual speakers. Observation of the data reveals that the concept of language can accoun…
Linguistic identities in talk-in-interaction
Medium repair vs. other-language repair
One of the issues studies of language alternation among bilingual speaker still have to resolve is that of the b ase language (Auer, 1997; Deprèz de Hérédia, 1991), of a s cheme of interpretation (Garfinkel, 1967), with respect to which categories of language alternation are identified. Starting from the fact that the need for a scheme of interpretation is not felt by analysts only, but also by speakers themselves, this paper argues that, in orde…
Language separateness
In this paper, I argue that, for a 'faithful' account of the orderliness of language alternation among bilingual speakers, an attitude of indifference must be adopted inapproaching the data. More specifically, I argue that bilingual speakers cannot be assumed to be 'normatively' speaking either language A or language B. They could also have adopted the use of both languages as the medium (Gafaranga, 1998, 1999, 2000). To demonstrate the need for …
Language choice as a significant aspect of talk organization
A common assumption in research on talk, especially in research on talk among bilingual speakers, is that people speak languages. This assumption leads to a serious issue of the orderliness of language alternation among bilingual speakers, of the possibility of conducting a conversational activity in two languages. To account for the orderliness of this type of talk, most researchers (e.g., Gumperz 1982, Myers-Scotton 1993b) have tended to focus …
Medium request
In his landmark contribution to the field of language shift/maintenance, Fishman maintains that, for language shift to be reversed, "face-to-face, small-scale social life must be pursued in their own right and focused upon directly." This article responds to this call to examine language shift at the level of face-to-face interaction. It describes a specific interactional practice, referred to as "medium request," observed in the Rwandan communit…
Linguistic identities in talk-in-interaction
Demythologising language alternation studies
Transition space medium repair
The expression of aversion to medicines in general practice consultations
Social identities and language alternation in non-formal institutional bilingual talk
Identity-related accounts of language alternation among bilingual speakers have traditionally drawn on the social values of the languages involved in specific communities (Gumperz 1982, Myers-Scotton 1993). However, recently researchers have expressed reservation against this approach (Wootton and Sebba 1998, Li Wei 1998, 2002). Following from this, Gafaranga 2001 argues that, in order to account for the orderliness of language alternation, langu…
Translinguistic apposition in a multilingual media blog in Rwanda
Researchers have called for studies that link the macro and the micro in language policy research. In turn, the notion of 'micro' has been theorised as referring either to the micro implementation of macro policies or to micro policies. In this article, a third way of thinking about the relationship between the macro and the micro in language policy-referred to as the interpretive perspective-is proposed. In this perspective, macro language polic…
Other-language recalibration repair in broadcast news interviews in Rwanda
Using institutional conversation analysis, this article develops an account of the organisation of other-language recalibration repair in broadcast news interviews in Rwanda. Initial observation shows that the structure of other-language recalibration repair is significantly reduced compared to that of repair in everyday conversation. The study argues that this difference is due to the interactional use of the repair practice. To develop this arg…
Other-language recalibration in bilingual broadcast news interviews in Rwanda
Micro declared language policy or not
Language separateness
In this paper, I argue that, for a 'faithful' account of the orderliness of language alternation among bilingual speakers, an attitude of indifference must be adopted inapproaching the data. More specifically, I argue that bilingual speakers cannot be assumed to be 'normatively' speaking either language A or language B. They could also have adopted the use of both languages as the medium (Gafaranga, 1998, 1999, 2000). To demonstrate the need for …
Language choice as a significant aspect of talk organization
A common assumption in research on talk, especially in research on talk among bilingual speakers, is that people speak languages. This assumption leads to a serious issue of the orderliness of language alternation among bilingual speakers, of the possibility of conducting a conversational activity in two languages. To account for the orderliness of this type of talk, most researchers (e.g., Gumperz 1982, Myers-Scotton 1993b) have tended to focus …
Medium repair vs. other-language repair
One of the issues studies of language alternation among bilingual speaker still have to resolve is that of the b ase language (Auer, 1997; Deprèz de Hérédia, 1991), of a s cheme of interpretation (Garfinkel, 1967), with respect to which categories of language alternation are identified. Starting from the fact that the need for a scheme of interpretation is not felt by analysts only, but also by speakers themselves, this paper argues that, in orde…
Language separateness
In this paper, I argue that, for a 'faithful' account of the orderliness of language alternation among bilingual speakers, an attitude of indifference must be adopted inapproaching the data. More specifically, I argue that bilingual speakers cannot be assumed to be 'normatively' speaking either language A or language B. They could also have adopted the use of both languages as the medium (Gafaranga, 1998, 1999, 2000). To demonstrate the need for …
Language versus Medium in the study of bilingual conversation
This paper is based on bilingual conversations we have collected in two bilingual settings, namely service encounters in Barcelona and ordinary informal conversations among bilingual Rwandese in Belgium. On the basis of these data, the paper raises the question of whether the concept of l anguage is a useful one in accounting for language choice acts among bilingual speakers. Observation of the data reveals that the concept of language can accoun…
Linguistic identities in talk-in-interaction
Interactional otherness
The concept of c odeswitching has traditionally been understood, from an external observer's perspective, to mean any occurrence of two languages within the same conversation. Our position is that language alternation should be observed from participants' own perspective. From this perspective, many distinct types of language alternation can be identified, namely “language alternation itself as the medium,” “medium repair” (Gafaranga, 1999,2000) …
Social identities and language alternation in non-formal institutional bilingual talk
Identity-related accounts of language alternation among bilingual speakers have traditionally drawn on the social values of the languages involved in specific communities (Gumperz 1982, Myers-Scotton 1993). However, recently researchers have expressed reservation against this approach (Wootton and Sebba 1998, Li Wei 1998, 2002). Following from this, Gafaranga 2001 argues that, in order to account for the orderliness of language alternation, langu…
The expression of aversion to medicines in general practice consultations
Demythologising language alternation studies
Medium request
In his landmark contribution to the field of language shift/maintenance, Fishman maintains that, for language shift to be reversed, "face-to-face, small-scale social life must be pursued in their own right and focused upon directly." This article responds to this call to examine language shift at the level of face-to-face interaction. It describes a specific interactional practice, referred to as "medium request," observed in the Rwandan communit…
‘Medium of instruction’ vs. ‘medium of classroom interaction’
The aim of this paper is to account for language choice and alternation phenomena we have observed in a French complementary school classroom in Scotland. In this classroom, talk can be conducted in French (the official medium of instruction), in English (the other language in contact) and in both French and English. A critical review of the literature has revealed that current studies of bilingual classroom talk are conducted either from a ‘loca…
Transition space medium repair
Language alternation and conversational repair in bilingual conversation
Researchers have consistently reported language alternation in repair sequences in bilingual conversation. However, up until now, no systematic account of the relationship between language alternation and conversational repair has been put forward. The aim of this article is to fill this gap. Two main questions are addressed: (a) where in the repair sequence can language alternation occur? And (b) what does language alternation do in repair seque…
Micro declared language policy or not
Translinguistic apposition in a multilingual media blog in Rwanda
Researchers have called for studies that link the macro and the micro in language policy research. In turn, the notion of 'micro' has been theorised as referring either to the micro implementation of macro policies or to micro policies. In this article, a third way of thinking about the relationship between the macro and the micro in language policy-referred to as the interpretive perspective-is proposed. In this perspective, macro language polic…
Language choice and direct speech presentation in Kinyarwanda news articles
Aims/objectives/purpose/research questions: This paper investigates the issue of language choice in direct speech presentation (DS) in Kinyarwanda news articles. Two specific research questions are addressed: 1. What is the default medium of DS in these texts and how can it be accounted? 2. Can the default medium be deviated from and what functions does deviance serve? Design/methodology/approach: An inductive discourse analytic methodology. Data…
Other-language recalibration in bilingual broadcast news interviews in Rwanda
Other-language recalibration repair in broadcast news interviews in Rwanda
Using institutional conversation analysis, this article develops an account of the organisation of other-language recalibration repair in broadcast news interviews in Rwanda. Initial observation shows that the structure of other-language recalibration repair is significantly reduced compared to that of repair in everyday conversation. The study argues that this difference is due to the interactional use of the repair practice. To develop this arg…
Translinguistic apposition
Introduction: This paper investigates the structure and function of translinguistic apposition in Kinyarwanda news articles. In the structure, a Kinyarwanda noun phrase and a French / English noun phrase are juxtaposed as if the second clarified the first. Two major issues are identified, namely the possibility of translinguisticc apposition as practical action and its implicativeness relative to preceding and subsequent choices. These issues are…
To translanguage or not to translanguage
Using data from Rwandan multilingualism and applying a CA-informed qualitative methodology, this paper contributes to the debate about the nature of translanguaging, understood as the use of linguistic features from different languages without any orientation to language boundaries. To do this, the paper explores two empirical questions. First it is observed that, in bilingual conversation, practices which can be correctly described as translangu…
Linguistics (19 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (17 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (17 works) · Psychology (17 works) · Computer Science (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Conversation (11 works) · Philosophy (10 works) · Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare (8 works) · Conversation analysis (7 works)